The Wednesday night death of an Oak Grove volunteer fire chief ended a career of public service that spanned four decades.
Randy Pogue, 49, broke his back while on a Feb. 2 fire run, and after an 18-day struggle with complications in an intensive-care unit, his heart stopped.
Veronica Pogue, who spent only a handful of hours at home since her husband’s Feb. 2 crash, said his commitment to helping the community often defined him.
He was first drawn to public service while growing up in rural Tennessee after a friend lost everything in a fire that the local firefighting volunteers weren’t able to extinguish, Veronica Pogue said.
After that, his best friend died in a car crash, and that “cemented” Pogue’s commitment to community service, his wife said. He joined the Harrisburg, Tenn., Volunteer Fire Department as a 17-year-old.
He went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force, working as a firefighter, and eventually worked for the Arkansas Forestry Commission, helping provide resources to rural fire companies. Pogue most recently worked as a mechanic supervisor for the Arkansas State Police.
Carol Rudder, a friend of the Pogues and the wife of a former Oak Grove firefighter, said the chief ’s death is not only a loss for family and friends but for the community.
“He’s been a true servant to the community. The amount of his time that he gave, going out at all times of night, I have a great respect for him for that,” Rudder said. “He’s one of those people who jumps up and does things before three other people can turn around.”
On Feb. 2, Pogue was alone in the Fire Department’s engine driving to a traffic accident. The weather was cold and wet, and the pavement was icy. Pogue lost control of the fire engine on Arkansas 365 just a few miles south of Maumelle, and it crashed on the roadside.
Even after the crash broke his back, Pogue - who started volunteering in the fire district 13 years ago and became chief within a year - remained upbeat.
John Rudder, a former volunteer firefighter who worked for years alongside Pogue, said he learned about the crash from the chief.
“He sent me a text. Told me he was in the hospital with a broke back,” Rudder said. “He couldn’t believe it happened.”
John Rudder was one of many who descended on Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock to see Pogue in the emergency room on Feb. 2. He looked as good as one could after a crash, John Rudder said.
But by that evening, complications started to arise, and the medical staff put Pogue into a drug-induced coma.
Over the weeks, his condition improved, and Pogue’s wife kept friends and family updated on his condition via Facebook.
“We were asking for prayer,” she said.
Carol Rudder said the fluid stopped filling Pogue’s lungs, and despite being in critical condition, he appeared stable. Friends and family grew hopeful when the doctors started to ease Pogue off a respirator.
But then problems arose with his kidneys, and Pogue was put on dialysis.
At 1 a.m. Wednesday, Pogue’s heart stopped, but doctors revived him.
That scare led doctors to schedule some surgical procedures to try to learn the cause of all of Pogue’s medical setbacks.
“They said they wanted to take him in … see what was going on. And his heart just stopped again,” Veronica Pogue said. “They couldn’t get him back after that.”
Early Wednesday night, Veronica posted another Facebook update from the hospital: “You fought hard babe. Rest in peace & love.”
The chief is survived by his wife, four children and four grandsons.
Arkansas, Pages 16 on 02/21/2014